Air Serbia and Hainan Airlines are expected to see significant growth in demand for their flights between Belgrade and China after the country announced it was lifting all travel restrictions for both locals and foreigners from January 8 and reopening its borders after three years. The easing of travel rules in China, the last part of the country's zero-Covid policy, comes as it battles a new wave of infections. Within half an hour of the announcements that China's borders would reopen, data showed searches in the country for popular destinations had increased ten-fold year-on-year. A cap on the number of daily flights is also being lifted, which will enable both Air Serbia and Hainan Airlines to boost frequencies in the future, while the Chinese carrier will also be able to drop its stop in Dalian on the way from Belgrade to Beijing, which is used as a quarantine point for travellers.
Air Serbia has already had a successful start on its one weekly service to Tianjin. Flights from Belgrade have been sold out weeks in advance. Furthermore, the service has boosted loads on other destinations in the airline’s network, with a notable number of transfer passengers. Foreign airlines flying to Belgrade have also benefited, with a number of carriers seeing an increased number of bookings by Chinese nationals who then continue onto Air Serbia’s Tianjin flight. “Tianjin is one of the biggest cargo hubs in China and also contributes to positive trends of passenger bookings”, Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said last week.
The Serbian carrier has previously noted that once China eases its Covid restrictions, it will increase frequencies to Tianjin and launch operations to Shanghai. The airline’s Airbus A330-200 aircraft currently spends over 24 hours on the ground in Tianjin in order to enable the same crew that operated the outbound flight to work on the inbound service. Mr Marek previously said, “We will continue to closely monitor the status of Covid-19 related restrictions in China and promptly react on new opportunities, once the market access limitations have ended. The ground time that Air Serbia aircraft spend in Tianjin is not optimal and comes as the result of a combination of various Covid-19 restrictions still in place. We will continue to work to improve that in the future, whenever such an option becomes available".
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Can they introduce Shanghai with current long haul fleet or they need another plane?
ReplyDeleteEven if they can, there is an issue in February or so when YU-ARC has to go into maintenance.
DeleteThat's the D check? How long does it take?
DeleteAt least 2 months
DeleteMaybe they will wet lease an A330 during that period. Like they did the Wamos Air A330 this November.
Delete@09,01
DeleteThey can. Both ARB and ARC aren't currently used anywhere near to their max potential, and won't be used to their max potential before mid June 2023. Problem will be having enough crew to operate any increase in flights in the mean time.
The process of bringing ARC into the fleet took around 4 months according to JU. There is 5 and a half months until ORD is launched.
I hope they can increase frequencies. Although I assume they will need approval for that and China's bureaucracy is notoriously slow.
ReplyDeleteHow many frequencies increase can we expect?
ReplyDeleteMarek said a few weeks ago they want to fly Shanghai 3 weekly.
DeleteThe gamble of launching these flights paid off.
ReplyDeleteThey are going to need that third A330 much sooner than they expected.
ReplyDelete+1
Delete+1
DeleteWhat is next bigger plain after a330
DeleteAn-225 I think
DeleteSo tourists will be able to travel to China too?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteYes from the 8th of January. Following rules appply:
DeleteA negative coronavirus PCR test will be required within 48 hours of departure
There will be no quarantine in a facility required anymore
There will be no testing requirement on arrival
Thanks
DeleteThey finally realized that zero covid policy is impossible...
DeleteRe entry for foreigners into China there are/were Covid and visa restrictions.
DeleteThe new Covid procedures were explained by Anonymous 09:08.
Re Visa restrictions: I read that the Chinese authorities will ease the visa procedures for foreign businessmen and foreign workers coming to China, but the Chinese authorities did not yet announce when they will start to issue tourist visas again
Can airlines fly now in full capacity?
DeleteI believe so.
DeleteChina allows tourist with no vax after all those restrictions?
DeleteInteresting that JU no longer seems to have PEK in their plans. Seems they left that one to Hainan.
ReplyDeleteBecause Tianjin is performing better than expected for them, and its just half an hour from Beijing.
DeleteI think its better they keep Tianjin. We already have Hainan flying from Beijing.
DeleteAgree
Delete3 units A330 - daily JFK, 3 weekly Chicago, 2 weekly Hamilton, 2 weekly Tianjin, 3 weekly Shanghai. Summer 2023, or the latest 2024. What do you think about it?
DeleteGreat idea!! But never gonna happen when Hamilton is in question..Even though, I would be happy, my little bother lives in Hamilton.
Delete@pozdrav you forgot about Lagos :)
DeleteHamilton LOL!! Pozdrav is certified expert
DeleteYes, Hamilton. Triple less airport costs than Pearson, more ex-yu diaspora, which is the main target market for Canada living in the aerea than in Toronto itself, and ideal destination for seasonal majority P2P flights. And I asked opinion on my suggestion. Instead, you gave your opinion on me, which absolutely shows your expertise, as long as I am not a certified expert. And just one thing more : if Tianjin came as result of thinking out of the box, why not Hamilton as well?
Delete@Prepelica
DeleteI am waiting with Lagos until the fourth unit comes 😃
@09,07
DeleteNot too sure where you got that info from, Marek is still talking about PEK and PVG being the next routes for China.
It is a bit strange reading the optimism in this article, as other countries are putting restrictions on travelers from China.. but, let's see!
ReplyDeleteYou are right. It is bad news that they are reopening and no airline will benefit. lol
DeleteIt is enough that Chinese citizens with foreign passports can now enter China and visit families after more than 3 years and don't have to worry about being in a sudden lock down.
DeleteThe only restriction that some countries are currently putting is that they have to quarantine for several days upon arrival. Considering the first wave of those traveling will be rich Chinese, I think many will take that option just to leave the country.
DeleteTravel restrictions can only benefit these routes since I am fairly certain Serbia won't be introducing any restrictions for Chinese citizens. At most they will introduce an on arrival Covid test like they did for Indians when the entire world closed their borders for them in 2021.
DeleteLet's see how quickly JU can respond to this, if it is possible to respond quickly.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, Air Serbia should have and could have started Tianjin earlier than December.
ReplyDeleteNo one could have known how China's covid policies would have played out. Starting flights in December was a risk too.
DeleteWhen did Hainan Airlines start flying to Belgrade?
Delete16 July
DeleteAir Serbia was considering introducing flights to China over the summer but it could not find an aircraft to be ready at the time. They were even thinking about wet leasing an A330 for summer but decided against it in the end.
DeleteOut of curiosity, what does Hainan do with their crew in Belgrade? Do they stay the entire week?
ReplyDeleteThey stay the entire week.
DeleteInteresting. I presume JU couldn't do the same in China due to Covid restrictions.
DeleteExactly
DeleteDon't they stay on the airplane?? I've NEVER seen their crew at the airport
DeleteCrew stays, plane doesnt stay
DeleteIt would be impossible for the same crew to operate the return flight.
DeleteThat third A330 can't come soon enough. And Marek is making all the right moves
ReplyDeleteGood market research, planning and anticipation. And perhaps a little bit of spying and as well. But it works great so far. This China reopen issue is a good example how they aquired ARC on time, despite some "analitičari" told it will be useless during winter.
DeleteI think it was just one self proclaimed analitičar who claimed that :D
DeleteThat's the one ;-)
DeleteAre you talking about my friend closely tied with Kradeze?
DeleteI don't know who you friend is but I'll give you a hint: this "analitičar" drives X3!
DeleteI wrote his name here and they deleted my comment. Shame.. but we can call him x3
DeleteThese blogs are so unprofessional.
DeleteWhy plural? I find unprofessional just the one which has marjory as core business and law as education, so zero things related to aviation, and which regularly erases posts which does not share his (because it's actually only him) opinion and bans people who speak loudly about crime and corruption in OU enforced by Kradeze. Ex-yu is not doing it. So the two are incomparable.
DeleteWhat other destinations in China could Air Serbia consider down the line? Guangzhou perhaps?
ReplyDeleteHong Kong could also be a possibility.
DeleteAny! They can randomly pick up the city and start flying, I am sure they would be full. That's the market of 1.3 billion of people and dozens of cities over milion inhabitants. They should think out of box again.
DeleteThe fact that Chinese can travel to Serbia without a visa will be an appealing choice to many looking to travel out of China.
ReplyDeleteAnd vice versa too.
DeleteAir Serbia can now retime the return of its flights from Tianjin. The plane doesn't have to sit there for 24 hours to wait for crew minimum rest. The crew can stay a week in China now and be able to leave their hotels and go out without needing to have been continuously tested.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how convenient it will be for them to have a large group of crew absent for a week.
DeleteCertainly more convenient than having a plane sit at a foreign airport for 24 hours.
Delete^ True
DeleteWith current Covid situation in China this is becoming super risky - you don't want your crew to get sick. It would be interesting to see what they think is a most optimal solution.
DeleteMaybe they could introduce more flights per week and have the crew only stay for a little bit.
DeleteGood news for both JU and HU.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing what this means for JU. Will they get that third A330 earlier than planned?
ReplyDeleteIs this route financed by China or Serbia?
ReplyDeleteIt is financed by passengers and cargo. Flights from Belgrade to Tianjin are sold out until 20th of January.
DeleteStrange, Tianjin airport is 90% domestic because it is considered a provincial airport of Beijing. Although LOT apparently used to fly there, the flights are no longer bookable. So, the conclusion is that this route is most likely financed.
DeleteThe flights are operating to Tianjin because flights into China from many countries, including Serbia, can not operate nonstop to Beijing due to Covid measures. That is why Hainan Airlines operates Beijing-Belgrade-Dalian-Beijing but there is a 5 hour stop in Dalian for all passengers to get tested. It would take you just a few minutes to find all this information about quarantine measures and restrictions in China on this site. It was written multiple times and Air Serbia's CEO said multiple times why they can't fly to Beijing or Shanghai at the moment. But hey, I guess it was easer to make assumptions and present them as facts.
DeleteNow they'll have millions of Covid cases each day. It's gonna get nasty before it gets good so the market will start recovering but it will need time.
ReplyDeleteAnd what was the alternative? Stay locked up forever?
DeleteNo, it's good they decided to end it. It should be better if they followed others so they could have same epidemic pattern. Now they'll deal with the situation we had year ago with high number of cases and deaths and that's not travel favorable situation.
DeleteChina CAAC expects already for China to reach 88% of pre Covid passenger numbers by 31st of January 2023.
ReplyDeleteSo if 3rd A330 comes earlier than planned, than maybe we can expect Miami or Toronto to also be launched earlier than planned :D
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed but knowing JU they seem to be vey indifferent towards Toronto so I'm not getting my hopes up.
DeleteI would be happy with Miami :D easier to get a US than Canadian visa.
DeleteToronto is extremely seasonal someone said JU were thinking of torono during summer months and then miami during winter, JU wanta to reduce seasonality so i belove toronto will take a while to be introduced
DeleteThe same resources can do YYZ in summer and HVN/BKK/DPS in winter.
DeleteIf Air Serbia received 2nd A330 in 4 months they can get third one by May. Being agile and responsive as they are with other routes, they could start Shanghai and Toronto in time for 2023 summer with 3rd A330. They could, but with all the negativity they exposed towards YYZ it would be a surprise of the year if they start Toronto in 2023.
DeleteWith 3 planes, they could do in summer:
Delete- JFK x7
- ORD x3
- PVG x3
- TSN x2
To accomodate for different flight times and timetables, 3 planes cannot do more than 15 -16 rotations per week.
This leaves MIA, YYZ and other chinese destinations for a 4th plane
Depends on priorities. When YYZ is not the lowest priority this is what 3 planes could do:
Delete- JFK x6
- YYZ x2
- TSN x2
- ORD x3
- PVG x2
My guess is that they'll take the 3rd a330 on ASAP notice, even if they'll pay a bit more for it. Maybe we could see the 4th widebody in their fleet by the end of 2023?
ReplyDeleteTo me it seems very possible. One thing for sure is that they really do respond quickly to changes on the market so let's see.
DeleteWithout the third 332 they'll have to sit this one out. All of their free capacity was tied to JFK going daily and ORD being launched.
DeleteIt would be a shame if they missed this opportunity especially with SU being out of the game. Airlines have already started boosting flights to China so makes you wonder if they were informed beforehand by their ministries of foreign affairs.
I think this would be the first time since covid that JU could not profit from a similar development.
Yep Etihad already announced it is increasing flights
Deletehttps://www.thenationalnews.com/business/aviation/2022/12/27/etihad-airways-adds-flights-to-shanghai-as-china-travel-demand-grows/
OS and SK also announced I think last week.
DeleteBravooo Nemjee!
DeleteNemjee +1
DeleteBravo Nemjee, you're soooo smart :D
DeleteIs that Tianjin Airport on the photo?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteAnyone else notice the ground handlers in hazmat suits. Nuts.
DeleteHas been the reality in China for several years now.
DeleteNow the only problem will be finding crew to support this expansion, both pilots and cabin, with the conditions now on offer I highly doubt crews will be flocking to join AS.
ReplyDeleteQuite the opposite, seems like the new management forgot about this little detail, employee retention
DeleteNot only the crew for the planes, but they also lack customer support and ground staff. Air Serbia human recourses don't even think of raising the salaries and making working conditions better. Young cabin crew from Serbia is going to Qatar and Emirates to work even though there are similar jobs in Serbia that they can work in, however AS offers 3 times less money, no accommodation, no benefits and terrible working hours. In order to attract more ppl to come and work for them, they should offer at least 1200euro net a month, otherwise I don't see a reason why anyone would choose AS over many of the outsourcing companies hiring English speakers for 700plus euros with many more benefits and better condition.
DeleteThis summer I had a job interview at AS for CS position (that includes extra hours, extra pressure and night shifts) and they openly laughed at me for saying I would not work for anything less than 95000rsd, considering the life cost and inflation AS needs to rethink their hiring policy ASAP.
Don't you get bored writing the same thing on every Air Serbia topic?
DeleteThis is the first time I read that reply, so obviously it's good he does it
DeleteAnonymous12:27
DeleteThis is a valid concern; we all saw how 2021 went for major European airlines that did not care much about their employees in years. AS has a reputation for being a terrible place to work and for underpaying its staff. If they want to see KLM and Lufthansa chaos in BEG, that's fine. Belgrade in general is facing a labor force crisis, and with the housing crisis and the prices of that I don`t see a reason for anyone from outside of Belgrade wanting to come to work for them and to accept to live like a rat.
12:27 why? let him speak and express himself freely. There were many critics about low salaries and bad working conditions. Such harsh and honest comments will only help JU management where the problem is and improve for the future generation.
DeleteBecause you are writing about it every single day (mind you without any evidene) on topics unrelated to it. We got it. Have a break.
Delete@12:25 What's the current salary for the CS position? Is there a difference if someone speaks German or French besides English? I think that everything below 90 k RSD for that kind of job is wasting time.
DeleteYou should try to apply for Dnata or TUI in Serbia. They hire agents for Lufthansa Group, the salary for begginers are from 100 - 120k RSD.
CS goes from low-ball 50k to quite solid 100k+ depending what and where's.
DeleteBakery at Palata Albanija has a poster for sellers with six day work week 90k plus bonuses.
I would be the first to apply for AS if they increased the pays to 800€. But with the pay and the hours it's just not worth it, even though I would love to work even for a short time in any airline.
My friend is cabin crew, basic salary is €400
DeleteHong Kong has today also announced they are sm ending all requrments as of today.
ReplyDeleteThey should take action faster, european carriers are already announcing capacity increase to China, while Air Serbia doesnt even have the 3rd plane for additional China flights
ReplyDeleteWell there you have the answer to your question, they sont have a 3rd aircraft so its hard for them to increase, jesus why dont you think before you write! Do you think they can get a plane by 1 day
Delete@18:50: What are you talking about, there was NO question in that statement.
Deletejesus why dont you read before you write....
Seems like that A330 wet leased from Wamos Air will make a comeback very soon
ReplyDeleteNo tourist visas yet.
ReplyDelete